Food That Might Need a Firefighter

Jerry Besselman has been a face that many fans have seen at any Hawk Sporting event that would involve refreshing your tastes.

The ReSporter went on a search to find someone that might have been to more games and events that wasn’t a player or Coach. Besselman fit that bill as the man behind the counter where you will find liquids or food to keep that Hawk fan strong enough to end the game and yelling on their Hawk team flavor of that event.

The ReSporter had an opportunity to get with Besselman at the end of a Hawk Softball game for a formal introduction to you the fan.

The ReSporter: Hey Jerry are you having fun?

Jerry Besselman: “Yes, I get to be around students and they all know my name.”

The ReSporter: Do they know you as Jerry or Besselman?

Jerry Besselman: “There was a time when Coach Nicole Creek needed to get a hold of me to change a time of a game or something like that and she was wanting to look up my phone number. She could not find me because she knew me by my first name. So yes, I’m thinking most of the students and teachers just know me by my first name.”

The ReSporter: What was your biggest game in selling refreshments?

Jerry Besselman: “That is an easy question….it had to be the Canyon Lake vs. Wimberley football game two years ago when both teams were 6-0.”

The ReSporter: Who is another team that might have a good following for you?

Jerry Besselman: “That would probably be Boerne when Wimberley is not around.”

The ReSporter: How many games do you think you attend in this capacity for any given year?

Jerry Besselman: “I would think I will be at around 90 games a year…give or take a game.”

The ReSporter: Give us an idea of what your day looks like when you have a game to service?

Jerry Besselman: “I always will show up about two hours before game time. When a game is over, then I’m ready to go. I’m usually putting things away as those games are coming to a close.”

The ReSporter: Which sport do you like the best?

Jerry Besselman: “The most excitement from a game has to be football. Volleyball and Softball are also pretty good.”

“In Volleyball you can get a good idea of the excitement by hearing the crowd noise. I will many times sneak a peek from the door to see what is going when the crowd gets loud. Volleyball also keeps me guessing on when it might be over when I’m guessing on when I need to start on my clean-up.”

The ReSporter: Can you tell how a game is going based on the crowd?

Jerry Besselman: “Yes, when the game is exciting, then there will be no people getting anything. The fourth quarter in football is usually slow.”

The ReSporter: I’m guessing that Baseball and Football might be the sports that you have the best venue to actually see a game.

Jerry Besselman: “Yes, Baseball is one sport that I have the best seat to see what is happening. And because we might not be crowded during the fourth quarter, then I have a good look at the football game.”

The ReSporter: What did you do before you started this job?

Jerry Besselman: “I can do this because I’m retired and I have six grandkids. Before this I was a Fireman.”

The ReSporter: Thanks for giving us a chance to see what is behind the counter. It also makes more sense on why you like doing this. Fireman are known for their great cooking and on top of that we don’t have to worry about ‘burnt’ food since we know you can put out those fires with your experience.

See you next year when Volleyball and Football starts to kick off.